Mysterious Cultural Festival 1
MYSTERIOUS CULTURAL FESTIVAL 1 CHAPTER 31 OF THE MANGA ( PART 4 OF THE HOSHINOME SCHOOL FESTIVAL STORY ARC ) ( Anime cross-reference---Incorporated into Anime Episode 11, " Mysterious Cultural Festival " ) Summary Sunday morning brings the opening of the Hoshinome Cultural Festival, with a large crowd of attendees already at the entrance gate. Among them is Tsubaki, wondering just why he is here, and taking note of the many girls who are cosplaying or cross-cosplaying at the festival. Soon, he meets up with Hayakawa, dressed in her middle school uniform, and a long jet black hair wig. She takes his hand, and they begin walking together, hand-in-hand, just like a typical boyfriend and girlfriend. Oka and Ueno are here at the festival, too. When they come upon a Maid Cafe, Oka goes in, but Ueno looks for a bathroom elsewhere. When Ueno finally enters the Maid Cafe, he is lead to a table, and is served coffee by Oka, dressed as a French Maid ! This is too much for Ueno, and he departs the cafe, leaving Oka looking out the window. But who is walking by that Oka sees ? None other than Hayakawa and Tsubaki, now walking arm-in-arm. Oka quietly follows at a distance, as the couple go to an empty building, and upstairs to an empty classroom. Hayakawa poses for Tsubaki in front of a second story window, and makes an offer to him. In a flashback, Hayakawa and Tsubaki were together by themselves in an empty classroom, and as she looked out the window at the pretty sunset, Tsubaki attempts to put his arms around her, to romantically embrace her. Hayakawa offers to allow him to do that now ! When Tsubaki declines, Hayakawa 'shifts gears', and has Tsubaki touch her hair while making another offer. If he will become her boyfriend, she will grow her hair out, to be identical to the Hayakawa in middle school that he loved so dearly. The romantic embers from back then now ignite into fiery passion, as Oka stealthy looks on. Plot It's early in the day, but already the attendees are flooding into the Hoshinome Cultural Festival. Among the early ones---Tsubaki. He is somewhat apprehensive about attending, and gets the surprise of his life when he is greeted at the front gate by the girl who is the Royal Executioner, ax in hand. But she only wants to give Tsubaki a program. It soon dawns on Tsubaki that most of the girls at the festival are cosplaying, or cross-cosplaying. During a break in the action, The Royal Executioner calls Hayakawa on a walkie-talkie to tell her that Tsubaki is now on the festival grounds. Urabe is yet to be seen. Hayakawa begins to undress, because it is time to 'get ready' ! Tsubaki waits at the designated meetup area, and soon, Hayakawa presents herself, dressed in an exact duplicate of her cute/sexy middle school girl's school uniform, and even having the long jet black hair that she used to have. With Tsubaki's gaze intently fixated on Hayakawa, and with Tsubaki's heart beating like kettle drum, she takes his hand and they begin to walk together, hand-in-hand. A dating couple has now entered the festival, it is Oka and Ueno. First off, they both watch a live folk band, and then walk around, coming upon a Maid Cafe. Oka wants to go in, but Ueno, sweating profusely, indicates that he is uncomfortable with the idea, and wants to go to the restroom first. Oka goes in by herself, and also gets the surprise of her life, as a bevy of French Maids greet her at the entrance. One maid shows Oka to her table, and takes her order. However, the maid makes a daring suggestion to Oka, and Oka decides to take her up on it . . . . . !!! Ueno, already nervous going into the Maid Cafe, is scared out of his wits by the French Maids at the entrance. He is shown to Oka's table, but Oka is not there. Soon, a maid brings Ueno a cup of coffee, he drinks, and then promptly sprays the coffee all over the table. The sexy French Maid ''is Oka !!! ''The one maid offered to Oka to try on a child's maid outfit, which fit her perfectly, except for being very tight in the bust ! But when two male festival goers take Oka's picture, Ueno 'looses it', and quickly exits the Maid Cafe, without Oka. Oka is nonplussed, until something outside the window catches her attention. Tsubaki walking arm-in-arm with another girl, not Urabe ! At that moment, Tsubaki objects to Hayakawa about walking so close together, but she says that it is necessary, to shame the guy who supposedly broke off the shipping with her. They continue walking for a while, with Hayakawa leading Tsubaki into an empty school building, and upstairs to an unused and empty classroom. Hayakawa stands in front of a classroom window, and asks Tsubaki if he remembers what happened in middle school when they were alone together in a similar classroom ? Not far behind is Oka, still wearing her maid outfit, and now climbing the stairs, following the voices coming from the second floor. She very quietly and stealthily peeks into the empty classroom, to see Hayakawa and Tsubaki intimately and passionately talking. Hayakawa is asking Tsubaki if he remembers . . . . . FLASHBACK---Tsubaki remembers very well ! Hayakawa and Tsubaki were on the same committee, and one day had to stay late after school to get caught up on paperwork. They were alone together, working in the empty classroom, as the sun was beginning to set. At the very end of the session, a sitting Hayakawa stretches, and then stands at the open window to observe the pretty sunset. A mild gust of wind blows Hayakawa's long, sexy hair backwards. Such a pleasing and romantic sight is not lost on Tsubaki, as he stands and comes up behind her, and begins to quietly wrap his arms around Hayakawa. At that very split-second, Hayakawa turns to look behind her, as Tsubaki snaps his arms behind himself, and stands at attention. He then leans his hands on the window sill, and comments on how pretty the sunset is. A disappointed Hayakawa ventures that he wanted to put his arms around her, to which Tsubaki confesses his romantic intentions. (#) Oka continues to peek in unobserved, and correctly discerns that Hayakawa must have been Tsubaki's First Love. As emotional attractions and tensions once again begin to ramp-up between them, Hayakawa makes the offer to Tsubaki that he can, right here and now, fulfill his intentions from way-back-then. He can now put his arms around Hayakawa, and realize the joy and rapture that he was denied back then, since the here-and-now Hayakawa is dressed the same, and is the same, as back then ! A sweaty Tsubaki declines. Hayakawa presses her advantage, wondering out loud if his feelings for her right now are 'not real'. To try and disprove that supposition, Hayakawa removes her long wig, and places Tsubaki's hand on her short hairstyle. She announces that if Tsubaki will actually become ''her boyfriend, ''that she will grow out her hair so as to be identical to the girl she was in middle school. And with that offer, the mutual passion of the both of them reaches the ignition point . As Oka looks on intently, a fire is lighted in her, too ! Commentary and Opinion by CuteButLooksLolita >>>>>>>>SPOILER ALERT<<<<>>>>SPOILERS AHEAD<<<<>>>>SPOILER ALERT<<<<<<< As Hayakawa's deceptive plans come together, and the people she had counted on begin to act out as she had expected, bit-by-bit one can see just what she wanted to accomplish. From previous chapters of the manga ( Chapters 28-30 ), it is shown that she wanted attention from someone of the opposite gender, to mitigate the hurt and pain she was now feeling because of a shipping gone sour. Turns out the most likely candidate as the source of such attention was Tsubaki, since he had such a crush on her in middle school. Earlier, when she found out that Tsubaki could process drool, Hayakawa tried, twice, to offer her drool to him, as he had asked her to do. But both times she was unsuccessful, as the shadow of Urabe kept crossing his mind, and he would decline. So a more romantic and passionate setting and attempt was considered, leading Hayakawa to invite Tsubaki to the Hoshinome Cultural Festival for such an occasion. She told him that she wanted from him to pretend to be her boyfriend, supposedly so that the boy in question that was shipping with her, but broke it off, would see them, and become ashamed, and leave her alone for good. But who was the real person that Hayakawa would hope would see them together, walking hand-in-hand ? The boy ? No ! It would turn out to be Urabe !!! Hayakawa wanted Urabe to see Tsubaki and herself intimately together, and as such, supposedly give up on Tsubaki. Then to foster the attempt at a third try to Drool Bond with Tsubaki, she would dress as she had done in middle school, and play out a situation that Tsubaki remembers that had such an emotional and romantic impact, so that the both of them could relive that incident, but with a different and very happy ending ! Category:Chapters